


The Things We See

by MelodramaticSalad



Series: Sterek Week 2016 [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Claudia Stilinski, Alive Talia Hale, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Best Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Hurt Derek Hale, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up Together, M/M, Magical Lydia Martin, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Mates Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Mentioned Paige, Minor Original Character(s), Not Beta Read, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Past Derek Hale/Paige, Skinny Dipping, Sterek Week 2016, Werewolf Mates, Witch Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 11:22:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8399767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodramaticSalad/pseuds/MelodramaticSalad
Summary: For Day 4 of Sterek Week: Magical!Stiles Stiles grew up in the life of knowing that there was always more to life than what others saw with a first glance. Even as a child he saw things that no one else seemed to and always had a fascination with the unusual. Some considered him an unusual child, but Claudia welcomed every single quirk her son displayed. His mother had a few special talents of her own and thrilled her to see it in her son as well. She'd raised Stiles to always keep his mind open and as grew and started to display his powers, she began to teach him how to use them. She even taught Stiles about werewolves at a young age, his infatuation with them growing once he had learned the truth about her closest friend. Stiles spent nearly every possible moment that he could roaming the Hale house, following after the middle child most of the time. Derek was three years older than Stiles, but the bond they developed with each other was something their mothers considered out of a story book. Like Derek, Stiles was sensitive to his emotions, but unlike Derek, Stiles didn't need a scent to figure it out. He could feel it.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [То, что мы видим](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9943400) by [24redhoodie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/24redhoodie/pseuds/24redhoodie), [HSTWOg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HSTWOg/pseuds/HSTWOg), [vmaz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vmaz/pseuds/vmaz)



> I'm so happy with how much you've all been liking everything I've been positing for Sterek week and I'm so thankful for all of your comments and kudos, thank you so, so much!
> 
> This one is also a gift for my friend Adrian! Hope you feel better!
> 
> As usual, unbeta'd so I apologize for any mistakes I miss!

Stiles grew up in the life of knowing that there was always more to life than what others saw with a first glance. Even as a child he saw things that no one else seemed to and always had a fascination with the unusual.

 

Some considered him an unusual child, but Claudia welcomed every single quirk her son displayed. His mother had a few special talents of her own and thrilled her to see it in her son as well. She'd raised Stiles to always keep his mind open and as grew and started to display his powers, she began to teach him how to use them. She even taught Stiles about werewolves at a young age, his infatuation with them growing once he had learned the truth about her closest friend.

 

Stiles spent nearly every possible moment that he could roaming the Hale house, following after the middle child most of the time. Derek was three years older than Stiles, but the bond they developed with each other was something their mothers considered out of a story book. Like Derek, Stiles was sensitive to his emotions, but unlike Derek, Stiles didn't need a scent to figure it out. He could feel it.

 

"Derek is someone that will always be special to you," His mother always said, "You'll realize how much when you're older." Stiles never understood what she had meant by that, even as he got older.

 

At the age of twenty-two, Stiles was grown well into his powers and found a perfect use for them. He and some of his best friends ran a magic shop that catered to the unusual. He and Lydia provided the services of a witch while some of his other supernatural friends ran off and took care of tasks that couldn't be solved by ordinary humans. Stiles even adored the house that they had purchased as their headquarters.

 

The outside of the beautiful home stood out with burgundy paneling with black and gold trimmings. Stiles felt it looked like a perfect witch home and made their shop all the more authentic. They even had a garden out back for all their herbs and flowers.

 

Stiles and Lydia had expected their business to go under in no time. It was more than a little difficult to estimate what kind of market there would be for witchcraft in the first place. The first few months were slow, but by the end of their first year the two had created a name for themselves. They had a steady flow of customers each week and regulars that loved to visit them.

 

People sure jumped at the opportunity to use magical help when they discovered it was the real deal.

 

Stiles was currently alone in the shop, working on a remedy for one of their customers. Mrs. Jacobs, a sweet elderly lady that always brought them baked goods, needed a refill of the ointment they had created to help with her arthritis. As he worked, he could hear the gentle ringing of their door chimes followed by the door opening.

 

A young woman, only a handful years older than Stiles, strolled in and smiled when she saw him working. "Hi, I heard you could help me with something?"

 

"I might be able to, what's the problem?" Stiles asked, setting aside his stone mortar and pestle so he could focus on the customer.

 

"It's uh, actually embarrassing to talk about, but I wanted to see if you had anything that could help with fertility? My husband and I...We've been trying, but nothing has worked." Stiles could see a faint sorrow in her eyes and stepped around the counter.

 

"Can I ask a few questions? I'm sorry, some will sound super impersonal, It's so we can figure out what's best for you." Stiles replied, smiling in an attempt to help her feel better. "I'm Stiles, what's your name?"

 

"Eleanor, and yes, that's fine." She replied, smiling back at him.

 

Stiles took a good look at her, focusing on her demeanor and her aura. He could sense a pure desire to nurture and a strong will, but he also could see the underlying guilt. "I'd ask which one of you is having the problem but...It's you, isn't it?"

 

Eleanor's breath caught before she sighed it out and nodded. "We've tried everything but nothing will take. Please, we're really desperate."

 

Stiles nodded and smiled again. "I'll help you."

 

He could practically feel the relief coming off of her and smiled wider. "Thank you, so much. You have no idea how much this means to me."

 

Stiles felt a familiar presence and perked up, glancing at the door for a moment before looking away. "It's no problem, we'll go over everything you need."

 

The door chimed and opened again before closing after Derek entered the building. Derek raised his hand in greeting before heading to the back of the house so he could wait for Stiles to finish.

 

Stiles smiled wider and picked his phone up, unlocking it and opening a note before looking up to Eleanor. "Can I get your contact information, please?"

 

Eleanor nodded at that. "Of course. It's Eleanor Smith and my phone number is 628-153-7481."

 

Stiles typed in the information and a note about what she was looking for. "Any allergies?"

 

"No, not that I know of."

 

"And this is essentially your last resort?" Stiles asked, looking over at the door when it opened again.

 

Another young woman strolled in and Stiles waved at her. "Hi, I'll be with you in just a minute." He greeted her.

 

"I need a spell done." The woman instead replied. Stiles raised his eyebrows a little and gave her a good look. He could already tell this was going to be a belligerent customer. Based on her aura, she was selfish and had an egotistical feel to her.

 

He decided to not press it and play polite instead. "That's fine, I'll discuss it with you as soon as I'm finished."

 

"I heard you guys were the best around and so I thought I'd give you a try. Mine shouldn't be too hard." Stiles wondered if the woman was even listening to a word he said. "You can get it done right away right?"

 

"I can get started as soon as I'm finished with this customer." Stiles replied, giving Eleanor an apologetic look. Eleanor shared an 'is this woman serious?' expression with him, so he at least knew he wasn't the only one bothered.

 

"So you guys like do love spells right? I need the best one, like an _amazing_ one. There's this guy and he's like the most amazing guy and we would be perfect together."

 

"We actually don't do love spells." Stiles answered.

 

"You don't?" She scoffed. "Isn't that like a common potion or whatever for witches? It should be easy for you to make one. I mean, it's not rocket science."

 

Stiles was officially done with this woman. He smiled sweetly at her and crossed his arms over his chest. "We don't use love spells because it's drugging someone and forcing them to fall in love. They're essentially little more than powerful roofies. It's easy to see why we can't condone something so manipulative and non-consensual. I mean, it's not rocket science, right?."

 

The woman stared at Stiles in shock. "You're an asshole! You're supposed to do whatever the customer wants! That's the whole point of this little freak show, isn't it?"

 

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but I think you should leave." Eleanor piped up, clearly uncomfortable with the behavior.

 

"Fuck you, bitch. He's probably conning you right now, you're just too stupid to see that."

 

"Anddd you just insulted my customer. You need to leave." Stiles stated.

 

"I'm not going anywhere until I get what I want. Either you make me what I want, or I can get my friends to kick your ass."

 

He could hear a chair scrape against the floor in the kitchen and almost laughed. "And you just threatened me." He raised his hand and with a flick of his wrist, the door opened. "Have a nice day."

 

The woman open her mouth to yell something at him, but Stiles quickly shut his hand and her mouth snapped shut. "Have a nice day." Stiles reiterated with more emphasis.

 

The woman let out muffled yelps in anger but couldn't open her mouth. She flipped Stiles off in her anger and stormed out of the building, making sure to knock over a few things on her way out.

 

As Stiles used his magic to shut the door, he could hear her yelling outside. "Shut up, you got control of your mouth back." He mumbled before looking to Eleanor. "I'm so sorry you had to see that."

 

Eleanor shook her head and laughed. "No, don't apologize for that, I wish I could do that trick myself."

 

Stiles laughed and smiled widely at her. "I hate using my powers like that, but I don't tolerate people being dicks to my customers. Especially entitled brats like that." He snorted.

 

He looked towards the back room and waved at Derek from where he leaned against the hall's archway. "It's okay, the problem's over now. I'll be back there in a minute." Derek nodded but didn't leave.

 

Stiles focused on Eleanor again. "Anyways, since I want to do whatever I can to help you, we're going to try two things." He stated, heading around the counter to rummage through his drawers. "The first is a tea that can help. Drink a cup every night for a week. In a few days I'll have an ointment ready for you and I'll contact you when it's ready." He got the bag of tea out and headed back around before holding it out to her.

 

Eleanor smiled and hugged Stiles tight, catching him off guard. "Thank you so much. I have a good feeling about this." Stiles hugged her back. His heart really went out for the girl and he wanted to help her anyway that he could.

 

After finishing up and discussing pricing, she headed out and left him alone with Derek. Stiles smiled over at Derek and raised his eyebrows. "What's up, Frowny?" He asked.

 

Derek didn't answer and stared at him instead. Stiles cocked his head and smiled wider, sensing the rising frustration. Derek pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed with his thumb before he showed Stiles the screen.

 

Stiles walked over to him and looked at it. _I was fighting that witch we had to go after and she cursed me so I can't talk. I made her angry apparently._

 

Stiles laughed and motioned for Derek to follow him to the back room. "That's what happens when you piss off a witch." He replied, glancing back at him and catching the roll of Derek's eyes.

 

Stiles smiled wider and started rummaging through his cupboards so he could start dumping the ingredients in a bowl. He watched the paste turn to a shade of green and grabbed a brush. "Tilt your head back."

 

He waited for Derek to do it and painted runes across Derek's neck. After whispering under his breath, he rolled down his sleeve so he could paint some up his own wrist. Stiles took a deep breath and closed his eyes before he began to chant. He felt warmth as the runes illuminated turquoise and grew bright until a swirl of energy appeared above his hand.

 

He opened his eyes and finished chanting before blowing out the energy so it faded in a puff of blue smoke. Derek felt the warmth on his neck start to fade and cleared his throat before rubbing it. "Thanks."

 

Stiles grinned and grabbed some paper towels so he could wet them in the sink and hand them over. "No problem." He picked up his mixing bowl and walked over to the kitchen sink so he could rinse it out. "Oh right, we're going up to the hot springs in a couple days for the full moon. Are you coming with us?"

 

"It'll be the usual group, right?" Derek asked, tossing the now blue colored paper towels in the trash.

 

"Yeah. We're going to have a ritual and swim for a while. Then we'll all drink and celebrate our youth or whatever the hell it is people in their twenties do."

 

Derek chuckled and shook his head at Stiles' words. "You're ridiculous."

 

"You love me being ridiculous." Stiles corrected him, pointing over at him.

 

"I guess. Sometimes I don't know why exactly I put up with you." Derek teased.

 

"Because when I was two you shared your fruit roll up with me and started a friendship that would last a lifetime." Stiles grinned and rinsed out the bowl before drying it again. "Not gonna lie, I kind of miss our awesome pillow forts."

 

Derek smiled at the memories of collecting all the pillows and blankets in his house. They always constructed magnificent fortresses and would hide inside. "I also remember when you used to think you could sneak up on me."

 

Stiles shrugged and smiled wider. "Yeah, but the good thing is that you can never sneak up on me either." He pointed out. 

 

He still didn't understand why his senses were different with Derek, but he could always tell when Derek was near. He could always feel whenever Derek was upset or in danger. Those nights were the worst when Derek was out on a job. Sometimes Stiles would wake up in the middle of the night and feel like something was wrong, so he would sit by his phone and wait for it to ring.

 

Almost always he would receive a phone call within a couple hours at the latest or at least a text message letting him know that he was okay. After what had happened when they were younger, he always got a message letting him know that everything was alright.

 

He would never forget the events that had taken place that night. 

 

_He remembered being out of town with his parents for the weekend. Everything had gone well on their vacation until he had woken up crying and feeling a horrible pain in his chest._

_Something was wrong. Something was extremely wrong with Derek._

_At the tender age of twelve, it was the most devastating sorrow he had ever felt and his entire life and the sorrow wasn't even his. At terrified him to feel something so strong, to feel something so wrong. He had gone to his parents and woken his mother, sobbing and begging for her to take him home._

_They needed to get home as fast as they could. Something was wrong and he needed to help._

_They had picked up their bags and rushed home with Claudia in the backseat with Stiles. She did her best to help her son but Stiles was inconsolable. He wouldn't stop crying and he could not fall asleep because of the strength of everything that tugged at every fiber of his being._

_The Stilinskis forwent even stopping at the house and went straight to the Hale home. The car didn't even come to a complete stop before Stiles burst out of the car. He could feel the crunch of leaves and the sharp poking of rocks beneath his feet. He didn't care about the pain, he need to make sure Derek was okay._

_Despite the late hour, all the lights were on and the door was open. Stiles had been right, something was wrong._

_He found Derek's parents in the living room and panted as he gripped the couch. "W-Where's Derek?"_

_Both of the adults had somber expressions on their faces. They exchanged a look before looking back to Stiles._

_"He's up in his bedroom, but be careful. He might not talk." Talia finally spoke up._

_Stiles nodded and rushed up the steps so he could go straight to Derek's room. Derek sat on the floor with back against the bed and his knees to his chest. The blank expression on his face contradicted the aura around him. Stiles saw an overwhelming amount of pain and sorrow coming off of him in waves._

_It was enough to bring tears to his eyes again. He wrapped his arms around Derek's shoulders and pulled him close. Derek didn't react at first but finally buried his face in Stiles' shoulder and let out a sob. Stiles squeezed his eyes shut and held Derek through it, rubbing his back and whispering to him._

_When Derek finally sat back and forced himself to look at Stiles, he shifted his eyes for him. Stiles' heart fell at the sight. The bright golden color he had known his whole life had changed to glowing azure. Derek crumbled when he realized Stiles had seen the change. "Don't look at me." He mumbled and lifted his hands to cover his face as he curled tighter into himself._

_"No, don't. Don't do that, Derek. It's okay, you're still the same to me." Stiles' voice cracked as he spoke and tugged at Derek's hands. Stiles' hands shook as he felt tears roll down his cheeks as he finally understood why Derek was in so much pain._

_"Promise me." Derek whispered, sniffing hard as lowered his hands. "Promise me that you'll never leave me."_

_Stiles sobbed out and took Derek in his arms again. "I promise."_

 

Stiles grabbed two mugs out of the cabinet and set them on the counter. He then grabbed his tea kettle and them with the hot water he had been letting cool while he dealt with customers. "You'll have a drink with me, right?"

 

"Why? Is it some kind of potion or something?" Derek asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

Stiles snorted and rolled his eyes, putting a tea bag in each mug. "More like chamomile tea, dumbass." He joked, turning to face him.

 

Derek nodded and stared at Stiles before frowning. He reached forwards to tug at the black shirt that Stiles wore beneath his plaid button down. "That's my shirt, isn't it?"

 

Stiles glanced down at the fabric and shrugged. "Probably. I did laundry from the last time you spent the night, so it got mixed in with my stuff." It was a common occurrence for them to wear each other's shirts every now and again.

 

For some reason, it always made them both feel better. It especially helped when either one of them was out of town for an extended period of time and they couldn't see each other. The both of them just figured it out to do with how close they were to each other. 

 

They were pack; they were family. It only made sense that they missed each other on their trips.

 

"So, you're going to the hot springs for the weekend?" Derek asked, watching Stiles rummage through the cabinet for some honey and sugar.

 

Stiles nodded at that. "We're closing the shop for the weekend too. So you should join us. It's going to be so much fun."

 

Derek nodded and smiled back at him. "Sounds good."

 

By the time Derek arrived at the house near the hot springs, the moon was high in the sky. The house belonged to his parents whenever any of them wanted to have a retreat to themselves and they welcomed it to the pack whenever they needed it.

 

He entered the house first but found no one inside, which meant they were all at the spring. The spring was a short walk from the house and still on their property so it remained private.

 

As he got closer, he could hear the sound of laughter and talking. He smiled a little wider to himself when he made out the sound of Stiles' laughter, followed by him talking.

 

"Yeah, we're almost ready. Everyone can probably start taking their clothes off now."

 

Wait...What?

 

Derek stumbled for a moment and had to pause to be sure he heard that right. Did Stiles just tell everyone to take their clothes off? He probably just meant their clothes above their swim suits, right?

 

Derek cut through the trees and his hopes were for nothing. Stiles and Lydia stood with black sarongs wrapped around their waists. Judging by Lydia's toplessness and the paint on their bodies, they weren't wearing anything underneath.

 

Stiles looked over at Derek and grinned, adjusting his hold on the bowl in his arms before heading over. "You made it in time. We're about to start."

 

"Start what?" Derek asked, glancing over to where Boyd and Erica were helping each other strip.

 

"We're doing a fun spell. It's going to expand the positivity and potential for good in everyone's life. Everyone has something they need right now, and with luck, this will give it to them." He smiled widely.

 

"By getting naked." Derek deadpanned.

 

Stiles laughed and cocked his head. "Of course. Everyone needs to be in their natural form. Besides, it's not the first time most of us ever went skinny dipping. Are you in?"

 

Derek rolled his eyes and pulled his shirt over his head. Stiles smiled wider and headed back over to Lydia so they could prepare.

 

Stiles had everyone line up once they were ready and had Lydia start at one end so they could get done at the same time. 

 

He started with Boyd and Erica and dipped his fingers in the bowl's mixture so he could brush the white mixture against Erica's cheeks first before smiling. "First comes the cleansing, pushing aside the bad energy. Then comes the focus on the positivity you two want. Dip your hand in this and hold your painted hand together." He watched Erica and Boyd coat their palms before they held hands.

 

Stiles nodded and smiled wider. "Just think about the baby you two want." He piped up. It was no secret that Erica and Boyd were wanting to start a family. They had married nearly six months ago now and recently announced to the pack that they were ready for to be parents. They just hadn't had luck yet.

 

Stiles dipped his fingers and painted Boyd's cheeks before painting a spiral on Erica's stomach and leaning in to press a kiss for her forehead.

 

Erica laughed and used her free hand to pat Stiles' back. "You're lucky I love you, Batman. This stuff feels so weird."

 

"Eh, you werewolves need to get used to weirdness in your lives." Stiles snorted, moving on to Boyd.

 

"You're not gonna kiss me too are you?" Boyd asked, raising an eyebrow and giving a crooked smile.

 

Stiles snickered and raised his eyebrows. "Maybe later." He replied, instead coating his palm and placing a perfect handmade above Boyd's heart.

 

He then moved on and smiled wider when he got to Derek. "Hey, Stud Muffin." He smirked.

 

Derek rolled his eyes at the cheesy nickname. "Hey, Cupcake." He replied in a flat tone.

 

Stiles laughed and painted marks on Derek's cheeks before putting a little spot on the tip of his nose. "Gotcha."

 

Derek shook his head and smiled as he lowered his gaze. He instantly regretted it as he took in the sight Stiles' body. He looked away and began trying to shove the random thought away. He tried thinking of the worst things he could, like dead puppies or naked grandmothers. The worst possible time to have thoughts of doing bad things to your best friend was when you were standing naked in front of said friend.

 

Stiles didn't any mind and focused on painting patterns on Derek's skin tracing his clavicle with the brush. He looked up at Derek's face again before his eyes widened in surprise. He smiled and said nothing before moving on. Derek hoped to god he didn't sense anything from that.

 

Once everyone was finished, Lydia allowed them to get in the water to enjoy themselves. The hot springs became boisterous with laughter as they swam and played under the moonlight.

 

Stiles floated in the water and watched the steam billow out above him as he sighed out in content. The water felt so incredible on his skin and the spell had left him feeling content.

 

He was ecstatic for some more positivity in all his friend's lives and hoped everything would work out for all of them. When he felt someone watching him, he looked over and grinned at Derek. "What's up?" He asked, swimming over and standing in front of him.

 

"Nothing, just thinking."

 

"Well, you were doing that whole staring thing, so does that mean you were admiring the view?" Stiles teased, giving him a gentle poke on the shoulder. "What are you thinking about anyways? This beautiful man in front of you?"

 

Derek frowned and his gaze hardened. The expression startled Stiles for a moment. That was until he stared closer. He then raised his eyebrows and swallowed at the nervous feeling that started to spike up. "Derek?"

 

Derek shook his head and looked away, sighing and scratching at his head.

 

Stiles leaned over and tried to stay in his line of vision. "No, don't do that. Talk to me. What are you thinking about?"

 

"I'm thinking that you've been with me through everything. That you've been with me every step of the way and you worry about me even when I'm not around. I know you always put protective wards on my things when I leave town. I know you can't sleep when I go for days."

 

This time Stiles was the one to look away. "How do you know that?" Stiles asked.

 

"Because I'm the same way. I don't know, I like it when you wear my things because we smell like each other and that keeps werewolves that aren't in our pack away from you. Any time you're in danger, I just want to run in and destroy anything that touches you. I just always thought that maybe it was because we're best friends and have always had a close bond. Our bond has always, _always_ been different and I've never been able to figure out whyyyy . And now you're here, standing in front of me like this." He stated, motioning awkwardly at Stiles.

 

Stiles looked offended for a moment. "Do I look weird?" He didn't sense any disgust but perhaps he was reading everything wrong? He could see frustration so perhaps Derek was annoyed to see more of him than he should? What if everything he was reading was wrong? He could feel his head spin and Derek reached forwards to steady him when he swayed.

 

"No. Look, it's not that. It's that I don't think I can keep seeing you like this...Not like _this_ but." Derek growled and tilted his head back. "It's that I don't think I can keep seeing you as just a friend. You're so much more to me, I guess is what I'm trying to say."

 

Stiles' could have sworn his heart stopped for a split second. Did he fall on the way in and hit his head? "Uh?"

 

Derek's face went blank. "Uh?"

 

Stiles let out a garbled attempt of words for a moment before he groaned and grabbed Derek by the face so he could pull him in for a kiss. Derek's eyes widened as he listened to Stiles' pounding heart. He could smell his anxiety and shock and how the scent shifted to something sweeter. He could smell Stiles' want, how Stiles desired him.

 

Derek stopped hesitating and locked his arms around Stiles' waist to pull him flush against his chest.

 

Scott looked over at the two of them and whistled. "It's finally happening!" He exclaimed, drawing everyone else's attention to Derek and Stiles.

Isaac laughed and clapped his hands. "I guess I really do owe you money, Erica."

"You owe me money too, I thought this would be about the time they'd finally kiss." Lydia said with a smug smirk, highfiving Allison.

Erica just laughed harder. "Looks like the boys are taking us to dinner. But don't stop now guys, keep kissing." 

Stiles groaned at his friends and pulled away to drop his head on Derek's shoulder. Derek meanwhile growled and shifted his eyes at their friends as he showed off his fangs.

 

After the weekend ended, Stiles went back home to check in with his parents. He found his mom in the kitchen making breakfast and smiled. "Morning, Mom."

 

"Morning. How was the full moon?" Claudia asked, looking over to him and smiling. "Do you want pancakes?"

 

"Pancakes would be awesome. The full moon was amazing too, I think it was really good for us. There's something I've been wanting to ask though."

 

Claudia raised her eyebrows and turned the stove off so she could focus on him. "What do you need to ask? You seem nervous. What happened?"

 

"Uh, something happened at the springs. You've told me my whole life that I would some day realize how special Derek was to me and I think I know that now. What I'm wondering is...What did you mean by it?"

 

Claudia stared at Stiles incredulously. "Did it really take you almost twenty years to realize that Derek is your soulmate?"

 

Stiles stared at his mother in shock. "Excuse me?"

 

Claudia laughed and headed over to hug her son. "I'm so proud of you. I'm glad you realized it."

 

"Wait, wait, no. I need you to run that by me again. We're soulmates?"

 

Claudia sighed as she pulled away but didn't stop smiling. "You're just like me. You've always been able to sense people's auras and read them to an extent. But we all have that one special person we can read more than others and even find ourselves in tune with their emotions when they're away. My person is your father. Yours was always Derek."

 

Stiles stared at his mother, feeling much like an annoying buffering screen since he could not for the life of him think of a response. All he could do was give a slack jawed stare.

 

Little did Stiles know, Derek was across town at his family home, having the exact same reaction to receiving the mate talk from his parents while his sisters struggled to stop laughing.

**Author's Note:**

> Accompanying graphic is [here!](http://melodramaticsalad.tumblr.com/post/152406192538)


End file.
